Thousands of Oregon Taxpayers Still Have Not Cashed Refund Checks

Checks are considered void after two years and are then sent to the Department of State Lands.

Thousands of taxpayers across Oregon have tax refund money awaiting them - all they need to do is cash a check. Photo Courtesy: Oregon.gov

(SALEM, Ore. ) - Thousands of taxpayers across Oregon have tax refund money awaiting them - all they need to do is cash a check.

The Oregon Department of Revenue has mailed letters to taxpayers in possession of refund checks that haven't been cashed as a reminder to redeem these checks prior to October.

"Annually, Revenue sends notices of outstanding refund checks to the taxpayer's last known address," explained Jan Hunt, Revenue's Budget and Finance Manager. "Our goal is to ensure each taxpayer gets their money."

Checks are considered void after two years and are then sent to the Department of State Lands.

If a letter is received, cash the check immediately. If the check has been lost or was never received, the taxpayer should sign the notification letter and return it to Revenue to have the check reissued.

Last year, Oregon taxpayers were notified of $1,850,779 in refund checks that hadn't been cashed. This year, 1,000 - 2,000 notification letters were mailed.

Hunt said the most common reasons for not cashing a refund check are misplacement of the check or having an incorrect mailing address on file with Revenue. She said taxpayers should notify Revenue of any address changes to ensure receipt of all tax-related correspondence.

Visit www.oregon.gov/dor to get tax forms, check the status of your refund, or make tax payments; or call 1-800-356-4222 toll-free from an Oregon prefix (English or Spanish); 503-378-4988 in Salem and outside Oregon; or email, questions.dor@oregon.gov. For TTY (hearing or speech impaired), call 1-800-886-7204.

Source: Oregon Department of Revenue